Setting
Sharin no Kuni takes place in an unnamed country, often referred to as the 'wheel country'. Although nominally democratic, all aspects of society in this country are influenced by an elite stratum of people known as "Special High Class Individuals." Special High Class Individuals possess complete legal authority, using this to confer 'obligations'- absolute rules which if disobeyed will result in one's confinement in a forced-labor camp - upon those whose actions are judged to be detrimental to society.The country's geographical location is not mentioned, but it is a separate political entity from Japan. It borders a poverty-stricken and war-torn 'Southern Country', whose inhabitants have a distinctive appearance and are often discriminated against in the north.
The events of the story occur in an isolated farming town, surrounded on all sides by mountains. Some years past, the town was the origin of a civil uprising which was suppressed brutally by the government, resulting in a large quantity of orphans and people with punitive 'obligations'.
Story
Sharin no Kuni's story centers around Kenichi Morita, a young man who has been training for the past seven years to become a Special High Class Individual. For his final examination, he has been dispatched to the same town in which he lived as a child. His task: to pose as a student in the town's school and rehabilitate three of his classmates who possess 'obligations', successfully preparing them to re-enter society.However, this seemingly straightforward examination will force him to call upon all his training, exercise all his wits, and confront the past he fled from so many years ago...